A Serious Discussion [Adelaide]

Even as he spoke those words, Odysseas did not feel like making anything up to Miss Mimosa Harrington. The child was... not good enough for his standards, and he doubted that this was going to change anytime soon. Sadly, no matter who he was, Adelaide Goshawk was still the one running this place, therefore, he was going to have to obey to her wishes. The Grecian remained silent as the woman explained that there were ways to make this right, especially if the person who had recorded him was one of Miss Harrington's friends. After all, according to Adelaide's words, the incident seemed to haven't spread that far, thank Merlin.

"I'd say Miss Harrington deserves the usual ten points for her attendance, as well as ten apiece for each of her correct answers. You can make your way to the hourglasses after this and rectify the matter, it should be enough to appease our unknown friend."

Had he not been trained to hide his emotions, Odysseas would have shown the anger that was slowly taking over him. His jaw set slightly at Adelaide's words, but no other sign would be visible to the witch. No, the Grecian wizard was not going to allow anyone to see how livid he was with that decision. "As you wish." Was all his said, not averting his eyes from the Headmistress. He was not going to show weakness in front of her, even though she had just undermined his power in his own class, and had forced him to appraise the young Slytherin.

The subject soon changed though, and Odysseas allowed himself some time to calm down. Adelaide had pushed him too far without actually knowing, and that, for the younger wizard, was even worse. He did not enjoy being undermined, especially in his own class. But the change of subject caught Odysseas' interest, since Adelaide seemed to share more information about the Clements and their relationship with their daughter, but also with Miss Harrington.

"But if it is, it happens remarkably often to be coincidental."

Odysseas nodded at that, refraining from making a comment, since he wanted to hear more from Adelaide before he decided to speak up. The witch did not disappoint though, and soon, more and more information came out of her, without him having to do anything. Even though the Palace had insisted that Miss Harrington was treated equally as the rest, it was obvious to the Headmistress and not to him too, that they had a preference on the young Slytherin. The Clements did not sponsor the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team, but the Slytherin one. The packages that came in were not for the rightful Clement heiress, but the cheap replacement.

And the worst part? Jacques Clement, Elenore's own brother, usually visited only to see the young child, and not his sister. That proved to Odysseas that the Clements had not been as smart as everyone considered them to be. They had chosen a favourite, something that should not of happened in the first place, and to make matters worse, the favourite child was Mimosa Harrington and not Elenore Clement. Not their actual child, but their ward. Odysseas couldn't even begin to imagine the pain Elenore was feeling, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

The young Hufflepuff had always been guarded, but after she returned to the Castle once Christmas Holidays were over, sadness could be seen in her eyes. Someone had hurt her, and from what he had gathered here today, it had not been the first time. Nor is it going to be the last, Odysseas thought, tucking all the information away.

"Well, we are instructed to treat them equally, and I will do just that. Besides the awarding of points, I think it would be wise, if I made a good public impression on Miss Harrington. Could I have your permission to take her to the Forbidden Forest, in order to see the Unicorn foals from up close? I think that would please her very much." Odysseas asked, waiting for a response from the Headmistress. Once he got her approval, his plan would be set into motion.

The Care pf Magical Creatures Professor didn't speak for the most part beyond acknowledging that the correction to Miss. Harrington's points will be seen to. In fact, the only other thing he added was how to legitimize the awarding further, to which Adelaide could not object. If he wanted to make a full show of how well the school treated the young child, the Grecian had her blessing.

"That would be wise," she agreed thoughtfully. Of course, he had been taking the older Miss Clement on such excursions too so for anyone who pointed out favoritism, they always had that to fall back on. Though perhaps the man needed to be reminded that investing in both girls equally was not the best idea.

"Before I let you go back to your work though," the redhead began carefully, choosing just the right words to get the message across without implicating herself in anything. " I'd like to tell you a story about my father. He was very fond of the races, you see. And the best advice he ever gave my brother and I was to never use your feelings as a judge for which steed to bet on. You might want to bet on the newcomer that could change the game or the one who had a limp last year but had made a full recovery, but in the end, your choice has to be based on cold, hard facts."

The redhead paused, taking a moment to let him connect the dots before she added her final words. "Miss Clement will be graduating in a few months. Come next September, she will no longer be our concern and so right now should not be our priority. Have a good day, Odysseas."